Frits van Paasschen
Frits D. van Paasschen | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 24, 1961 The Netherlands |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Known for | Former CEO of Starwood and Coors Brewing Company |
Frits D. van Paasschen (born 24 March 1961 in The Netherlands) is a former chief executive officer of Starwood and previously held an executive role at Coors Brewing Company.
Early life and education
Born to a family of two physicians, Van Paasschen completed his secondary education at Mercer Island High School near Seattle. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Biology from Amherst College and later obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Career
From September 2007 until February 2015, Van Paasschen acted as President and CEO of Starwood. Before this tenure, he led Coors Brewing Company as its President and CEO between March 2005 and August 2007.
His career at Nike Inc. included serving as Corporate Vice President and General Manager for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region from 2000 to 2004. Earlier roles at Nike encompassed Vice President and General Manager for Canada, Latin America, and Africa (1998–2000), as well as Vice President of Global Strategic Planning beginning in 1998.
Van Paasschen’s earlier professional experience involved management positions with Boston Consulting Group, First Call Corporation, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and McKinsey & Company. Additionally, he briefly worked at Disney.
Corporate Boards
- Vice President of Finance & Planning, Disney Consumer Products, part of The Walt Disney Company, in 1995
- Independent Director at Oakley, Inc. from September 2005 to November 2007
- Board member of The Jones Group Inc. starting November 30, 2006
- Joined the board of Starwood on September 24, 2007
- Appointed Non-Executive Director of Barclays Bank beginning August 1, 2013
- Serving as Director at Williams-Sonoma since 2017; participates on the Compensation, Nominations, Corporate Governance, and Social Responsibility Committees
- Director and Chair of the Board at Convene since 2018
Personal life
Van Paasschen is married with three children and holds citizenship in both the Netherlands and the United States.